Hello Folks,
My Wife and I just got back from a little jaunt up to the north
woods. We did 4,166 miles (83 1/2 hours driving time says the overhead
console) in eleven days, and I love the DAKster as much as ever!
The main focus of the trip was the UP of Michigan, Northern
Wisconsin and Northern Minnesota (more like the Land of 20,000 Lakes,
they're everywhere!), all of which are unbelievably nice. I always heard
about how beautiful that part of the country, and it was no exaggeration.
The only woods I'veseen that are as thick as the ones up there are the
Rhododendron thickets in the WV/VA/NC mountains.
Anyway, the first tourist attraction of the trip was in Warren,
Michigan. Yep, the place where DAKs are born ( I gotta love my wife for
suggesting this as a side trip and being willing to drive around Warren
looking for the plant on a day when we were doing over 600 miles!).
It was Saturday evening, so it was pretty quiet around the place.
They have a RAM and a DAK on pillars in front of the plant that my DAK
posed in front of for a family portrait. I also was able to take some
pictures of the lot where the finished goods were. It was incredible to see
hundreds of brandie new DAKs all lined up. (BTW, there were quite a few of
the yellow ones in the mix and they really stood out on an overcast day.)
As far as general observations go:
1. There seem to be a whole lot more DAKs up in those states than there are
down here in North Carolina.
2. My Father In Law loaned me his "tornado" which he says improved he V6
DAKs "ummph". It not only didn't seem to give my V8 any more umph, it also
did nothing for the gas mileage.
3. Speaking of ummph, you gotta love the V8 when it comes to passing on 2
lane roads. There is no wondering (even up hills) if you can pass the guy
doing 55 when you come up on him doing 65. (My wife finally pointed out
that I didn't have to wind it up to 75 or 80 EVERY time I passed someone.)
4. The best tankful mileage was 19.7 (1998 V8 Extended Cab 2WD). This was
on a day that was mostly dirt roads (30 to 35 MPH) and no AC. The worst
mileage was 15.4 on a 75 MPH, AC on and some traffic day. Typical mileage
was around 17.5.
5. The only "breakdown" occurred while sitting under the elevated train
tracks in Chicago. The trains field blew the compass away and it stayed 135
degrees off until I did the calibration procedure on it later that day.
6. There are only two things that I don't like about the DAK and they are
really minor. First, the sensitivity of the radio really stinks. Second,
the cruise control light comes on when the cruise is enabled, but doesn't
tell you whether it's activated. Several times I would hit SET or RESUME
while I was still under 30 MPH, take my foot off the gas and then realize
that it wasn't activated. (I said they were minor).
7. For the most part, DAK owners seem to acknowledge other DAK owners more
than other vehicles I've owned. I had several nice conversations with guys
from various states. The most interesting was with a guy who had a red
convertible DAK. He was the former Mayor of Chenoa, IL and pointed out
Hoselton road which was named for him. He has a son with I'net access and
was going to try to check out the Dakota page via him.
Enough rambling.
Regards,
George
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 12:09:48 EDT